Thursday, April 10, 2014

Banzai: The Great Teppanyaki Theater

"You had me at unlimited Uni."

With so many eat-all-you-can restaurants opening left and right, one must be unique to stand out and maintain a competitive advantage among the rest. An addition to the growing industry of luxury buffet restaurants in the Mall of Asia's Seaside Boulevard is called Banzai, owned by actor Marvin Agustin, which prides itself as the biggest teppanyaki restaurant in the world!

Catering to a maximum seating capacity of 300 people, Banzai: The Great Teppanyaki Theater, has a colossal area of 1, 200 square meters so you'll never feel cramped even if the place is packed. Interior is modern Japanese with clean-cut lines and minimalistic design.

All ingredients that they use are imported from Japan living up to the idea that Banzai only offers authentic Japanese food, nothing less. I love that the dishes are neatly set-up and organized per food station: Salad, Cold Soba, Yakitori, Tempura and Tonkatsu, Takoyaki and Okonomiyaki, Ramen, Sushi and Sashimi, Teppanyaki, Desserts and Beverages.

Salad

Spotted: My favorite Spicy Tuna Salad!

Cold Soba

Make-your-own Salad

Yakitori

Takoyaki

Ramen

Sushi and Rolls

Sashimi

Teppanyaki

Since we arrived early for dinner, the chef was able to prepare some ready-to-eat Teppanyaki dishes served on heated plates. But if you prefer fresh and off-the-grill, you may request them to cook it for you while you wait or have it delivered to your table.

Yasai Itame and other cooked dishes

Cakes and Pastries

More desserts

Beverages

Hot Tea and Coffee

Some of the dishes we were able to try

Spicy Tuna Salad

The Spicy Tuna Salad was really good I had about 3 servings of it. Another must-try is their Seaweed Salad -- refreshing, healthy and virtually fat-free. Both appetizers made an impressive stimulation to prepare my appetite for a night of pigging out.

Assorted Sashimi and Sushi

Whenever we go to any buffet restaurant, Japanese food always occupy at least 3/4 of my plate. So when I read that Banzai offers unlimited Uni, there's no thinking twice and I immediately reserved a table for two. A few hours after I fantasized on having fresh sashimi courtesy of incessant posts on my Instagram feed (that's 15% discount off your bill if you liked them on Facebook or followed Banzai on Instagram and Twitter), I was already asking for my third serving of Uni Sashimi.

So yes, dreams do come true if you have the courage to pursue them. *wink*

Uni (Sea Urchin)

My own version of Hiyashi and Yakitori

I have always loved Hiyashi. They don't offer it in Banzai but upon seeing that they have the ingredients to make one, I just grabbed them all and concocted my own. It felt like I was in my own kitchen preparing my (my one and only) specialty using my limited skills and knowledge in cooking.

Japanese Pizza

Banzai never scrimp on ingredients. And true to its word because everything we tried were good and lived up to the hype of authenticity and quality. I was never a fan of pizza to begin with but the burst of flavors and crunchiness of the crust made me ask for another slice.

Fried Rice

Desserts

By the time I get to the dessert section, my tummy was already complaining of feeling full! But for the sake of having a complete meal, I tried a few slices of the cakes from their wide-spread selection. It was a hit or miss as some were okay while some were a waste of extra calorie-intake.

Aside from the delicious buffet and great service, customers must look forward to the "Teppanyaki Show" featuring Banzai's talented chef cooking teppanyaki but with flying spatula, eggs thrown in the air, shakers juggled, and stove set on fire!